An Impromptu Swim
by Whumpdeedoo
Summary: Jake finds himself in too deep. Thankfully, Detective Diaz is on the scene.


Jake raced around the corner, almost slamming into the brick wall in his haste. He was just on his heels, one more moment and he would catch the guy, he could already see it in his mind.

He was in the midst of thinking up catchphrases when he stopped short, his momentum almost sending him careening off the dock. Two little black circles, the barrels of two guns, were disconcertingly close to his face.

"So, uh, thought Rosa was supposed to bag your buddy. Clearly, she's slacking-"

"Put your gun on the ground!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, okay. Putting my gun on the ground. Now how about we all take a deep breath and -"

"Shut him up," the perp growled. The other grinned wolfishly.

"Have fun sleeping with the fishes," he said, and pistol whipped him in the temple.

Stars burst in Jake's vision, and he tipped back and fell down through thin air. He thought _damn, that sounded cool_. Then he hit the water and the blackness swirling in his mind overtook him.

Rosa leaped off the fire escape directly onto her perp. He hit the ground hard and went limp underneath her. She looked up to see the other one brandishing a gun at her. She got into a crouch and tackled him around his middle, sending the gun skittering out of his hand. She pulled out her own weapon, pointed it at him, and shouted "On your stomach! Hands behind your back!"

He made a move to get up, and she simply sat on him, wrenching his hands behind his back and cuffing him. She dragged him over to the other, who was beginning to stir, moaning softly, and cuffed him as well.

"Jake!" She called. "I got your boy for you, dumbass. You owe me a drink!"

Her voice bounced through the narrow alleys, getting only silence in return. She frowned. Jake's perp chuckled.

"I hope he didn't owe you anything else, because I don't think he'll be paying you back anytime soon," he said.

Rosa narrowed her eyes and grabbed him roughly by the collar. "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

He just laughed, but Rosa saw his eyes flick to the water.

"Shit." She cuffed their ankles and ran to the side of the dock, scanning the dark water. It was silent. "Shit. Officer down, Dock 27, repeat, officer down," she barked into her radio.

She stripped off her jacket and boots and dove in.

The cold was a shock, and her eyes snapped open. She squinted into the murky darkness, seeing nothing but greenish water. She swam forward, feeling her stomach twist tighter with every moment.

Her lungs and eyes were burning when a shadowy shape loomed in her vision.

She clutched at it, and felt slick leather under her fingers. She pulled Jake into her chest, and began to kick up, up, up. Her heart thudded in her ears, her legs screamed for rest, Jake was unmoving in her arms.

Rosa broke the surface and gasped, coughing as she inhaled water. She checked that Jake's head was above water. He was livid; rivulets of diluted red ran from his temple.

She stopped a moment to catch her breath, then hauled them onto a dock. Her numb fingers clumsily searched his neck and found a weak pulse. Her hand moved down to his chest.

He wasn't breathing.

She tilted his head back and put her mouth over his blue lips.

"Jake, if you die, Amy's going to be really annoying about it," she grunted. She kept breathing for him until her chest ached and her vision swam. She felt like she was back under. "Damnit, Jake!"

Then, soft and subtle, like a breath of spring, Jake twitched. Rosa froze. His eyes stuttered open. For one suspended moment, a hot air balloon expanded in Rosa's chest.

And suddenly Jake was on his side, coughing and retching up water, and Rosa's hand was on his back, and she was stumbling over words that were supposed to be comforting. When he had gurgled out the last of it, he rolled over onto his back, groaning. She prodded his temple, and he flinched, reaching up an uncoordinated hand to slap at her.

"You're bleeding."

He didn't respond.

"Hey dumbass, how long were you down there? Do you have brain damage? Which Die Hard is the worst?"

"Shhhhhhhh," he croaked. He squinted up but seemed to have trouble focusing on her face. "Everything hurts. Am I dead?"

"No, I saved your life, as usual. Got my hair wet for you. It's going to dry into an afro now, so you'd best be grateful."

Jake exhaled a chuckle before a violent shudder rolled through him, making his teeth clack audibly.

"Back in a sec, try not to die while I'm gone." She went to check that the criminals were still secure, and grabbed her jacket. Jake was indeed still alive when she returned. She hauled him to a sitting position, him whining and clutching at his head, and peeled him out of his soaking layers.

"Here." She wrapped her jacket securely around him. He pulled it closer, smiling at her faintly.

"Thanks, Rosa."

She nodded, and settled down beside him to wait for the ambulance.

And Jake, what with his head injury, must have imagined the hand on his shoulder and the smile tugging at her lips.


End file.
